‘Andor’: Stellan Skarsgård Praises the Entire Cast, Says Tony Gilroy’s Absence Is Not Affecting Season 2 Because It Is Director and Actor-Proof
In an exclusive interview with Dagobah Dispatch, Entertainment Weekly‘s Star Wars-themed podcast, Stellan Skarsgård talked about what brought him onboard Andor, and what it was like working with Diego Luna and Genevieve O’Reilly. Skarsgård, who played Luthen Rael, one of the standout characters from season 1, also talked about the hefty monologue that’s earning him Emmy buzz and on series writer Tony Gilroy’s absence during the writers’ strike.
Entertainment Weekly got to ask the actor about who sold him on the character of Luthen Rael and why he chose to play him. Skarsgård was appealed by the character’s radical nature and also likened him to other leaders and revolutionaries in history:
“Tony Gilroy pitched it to me. He himself was a very great reason for me to take it. He pitched it and said he was going to make a story that is more real than the others. I know him and his writing, and every scene has an urgency to it. Every scene has a great tension to it. I got to read the first three or four episodes, so it was not a big question. And I said yes…
As an actor, it’s interesting to play this guy who lives a double life and to make two different characters out of one. That was interesting for me, but he’s interesting as well because he is extreme. He’s like Che Guevara or the Rote Armee Fraktion in Germany or any terrorists, really. But also, as a revolutionary, he is like George Washington. So, he’s got all those ingredients that make him very exciting. He has this conflict between doing the right thing and also being able to kill for the right thing.”
But Gilroy wasn’t the only reason for him to join. Skarsgård also added that a big factor that played into his decision was the chance to collaborate with lead actor Diego Luna:
“He was also a reason for me to take the job. We met several years ago. We were supposed to do a film about football, but it didn’t happen — not with us. It sort of broke down. So I’ve been waiting for him to do a film with me again. And I love the fellow. He’s a true actor, and he’s a true man.”
Luthen also has a few scenes with Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma when she frequents his antiquities shop (a cover for them to discuss the latest in galactic policies). The actor recalled particularly the first one, praising O’Reilly’s work too:
“I’m playing the Coruscant character there, which is much more flamboyant. But the first scene she entered, she came with this great limousine she has, flying in. She was much more sexy and beautiful, and she took over the space much more than I realized than she had ever done in the films. And then, of course, she has a great humor, so we had a lot of fun doing that.
There’s a lot of really great actors that I met all the time there. It’s so well cast. I had a lot of fun.”
Skarsgård also talked about his big monologue in episode 10. It’s an emotionally heavy scene as Luthen divulges all the pain and anguish he’s experienced trying to fight the Empire. And for the actor, he mentioned just how intense it was for him as well:
“I mean, of course I knew I had a speech that was very well written, and it was probably one of the best scenes in the season. And I worked on it. When we shot it, somehow I was tense. I think I said, “Let’s go again, let’s go again.” I think I did it 10 times in a row, very fast, right on top of each other. 10 times, like ‘Go, go, go.’ And then it was good. Then, I was satisfied, and the director was satisfied.”
Finally, Skarsgård was asked about how filming is going for Andor season 2. When asked about this, he used this opportunity to speak about Tony Gilroy and if his absence on set during the writers’ strike is affecting the series:
“That’s going great. I mean, Tony Gilroy has gone on strike, as of the first of May. He finished the scripts right on the day, and then he shut off the phone and disappeared into a picket line somewhere. So, we’ll see. He claims that the [series] is director-proof and actor-proof, which means that it can’t be destroyed. [Laughs] We’ll see if it works.”
There is still quite sometime before Andor season 2 premieres. It is set to debut on Disney Plus in August 2024. However, that hasn’t stopped the creators and actors from providing details to tide over fans. A few weeks ago Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna were also featured in Dagobah Dispatch where they discussed the season’s time jumps and the direction Cassian Andor is headed in the future.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
